Tomas Maier
Encyclopedia
Tomas Maier is a German-born designer who is currently Head of Creative Design at Italian luxury goods company Bottega Veneta
, a subsidiary of the Gucci Group. Tomas Maier has trained and worked with some of the most prestigious luxury fashion houses in France, Italy and Germany.
, where he attended a Waldorf school. His professional training began in Paris at the Ecole de la chambre syndicale de la couture parisienne
and subsequently he worked for Guy Laroche
, Sonia Rykiel
, where he designed menswear for eight years, Revillon
, where he was Creative Director for four years, and Hermès
, where he was responsible for women's ready-to-wear and also worked with leather goods and accessories. In 1999, he quit all his contracts and moved to Miami.
to become Head of Creative Design at Bottega Veneta in June 2001, when the company was acquired by the Gucci Group, and has been widely credited with reinventing the label as a benchmark of understated luxury by using the highest quality materials coupled with a simple, label-free aesthetic. Maier’s first act upon taking over at Bottega Veneta was to design the Cabat bag, a woven leather sack with two handles that has since become one of the label’s top-selling items. Maier has increased Bottega Veneta’s sales eight hundred per cent between 2001 and 2011.
and the Hamptons. The collection is sold at over 100 stores in more than 30 countries around the world.
Maier currently lives in Florida.
Bottega Veneta
Bottega Veneta is an Italian luxury goods house best known for its leather goods. Founded in 1966, it was purchased in 2001 by Gucci Group, now a part of the French multinational group PPR. Bottega Veneta is headquartered in Vicenza, in the Veneto region of northeastern Italy.- History :Bottega...
, a subsidiary of the Gucci Group. Tomas Maier has trained and worked with some of the most prestigious luxury fashion houses in France, Italy and Germany.
Background and training
Maier was born in PforzheimPforzheim
Pforzheim is a town of nearly 119,000 inhabitants in the state of Baden-Württemberg, southwest Germany at the gate to the Black Forest. It is world-famous for its jewelry and watch-making industry. Until 1565 it was the home to the Margraves of Baden. Because of that it gained the nickname...
, where he attended a Waldorf school. His professional training began in Paris at the Ecole de la chambre syndicale de la couture parisienne
Fédération française de la couture
The Fédération française de la couture, du prêt-à-porter des couturiers et des créateurs de mode is the French fashion industry governing clothing. The Federation was created in 1973, growing out of an older trade union , the Chambre syndicale de la haute couture parisienne which was created in...
and subsequently he worked for Guy Laroche
Guy Laroche
Guy Laroche was a French fashion designer and founder of the eponymous company.Laroche began his career in millinery and, from 1949, Laroche worked for Jean Desses and eventually became his assistant. In 1955, he visited the US to investigate new ready-to-wear manufacturing methods...
, Sonia Rykiel
Sonia Rykiel
Sonia Rykiel née Flis is a French fashion designer.Ethnically a Polish-Romanian Jew, Sonia Rykiel was born in Neuilly a commune in the western suburbs of Paris, France, the eldest of five daughters of a Polish mother and a Romanian father. At the age of 17, she was employed to dress the window...
, where he designed menswear for eight years, Revillon
Révillon
Révillon is a commune in the Aisne department in Picardy in northern France.-References:*...
, where he was Creative Director for four years, and Hermès
Hermès
Hermès International S.A., or simply Hermès is a French high fashion house established in 1837, today specializing in leather, lifestyle accessories, perfumery, luxury goods, and ready-to-wear...
, where he was responsible for women's ready-to-wear and also worked with leather goods and accessories. In 1999, he quit all his contracts and moved to Miami.
Bottega Veneta
He was recruited by Tom FordTom Ford
Thomas Carlyle "Tom" Ford is an American fashion designer and film director. He gained international fame for his turnaround of the Gucci fashion house and the creation of the Tom Ford label before directing the Oscar-nominated film A Single Man.-Early life :Tom Ford was born August 27, 1961 in...
to become Head of Creative Design at Bottega Veneta in June 2001, when the company was acquired by the Gucci Group, and has been widely credited with reinventing the label as a benchmark of understated luxury by using the highest quality materials coupled with a simple, label-free aesthetic. Maier’s first act upon taking over at Bottega Veneta was to design the Cabat bag, a woven leather sack with two handles that has since become one of the label’s top-selling items. Maier has increased Bottega Veneta’s sales eight hundred per cent between 2001 and 2011.
Own label
The Tomas Maier label was established in 1997 and an online boutique was launched in 1998. Since then, three eponymous stores have opened in FloridaFlorida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
and the Hamptons. The collection is sold at over 100 stores in more than 30 countries around the world.
Maier currently lives in Florida.